Archives for November 2018

A jump kit is the primary trauma bag carried by EMTs and paramedics. It contains a base set of things, and other customization items. It offers redundancy for things that are also into the ambulance, as well as redundancy in itself.

We have a very good friend who is a paramedic, and he gave us the master list of things he always carries with him. (His kit lives in his ambulance, and so no pictures...sorry about that.)

You may be thinking...what? Don't you folks already have a 1-Month plan? Yes, we do and it's here: One-Month Food Stash for Less than $150. But what we found was that, somethings we were taking often from the box and somethings we never touched.

When I check the box every 6-months to look for missing things (see my rotation plan here), I noticed we weren't actually storing what we normally eat.

So I set about to revise my 1-month emergency food box for foods we actually eat.

This list is designed for 1 person, for 1 month. As we are a family of 2, we would expect this box to actually last 2 weeks. #math

What I am changing:

#1 Plain pasta + sauce -> Pasta Sides (+ less pasta)

We don't really eat plain pasta. It stores great, has a long shelf life, and is packed with calories but...we just don't eat it. We do eat boxed mac and cheese (it still tastes like childhood). We would also eat flavored pastas like Norr Pasta Sides.

We have reduced the amount of pasta, and switched it for mac and cheese. The Norr Pasta sides also have all the spices contained in the packet, for a just add water cooking method.

#2 Falafel -> Stew

We like Falafel, which is a great street food. But it requires lots of oil to fry, and also is often eaten with bread, lettuce and tomatoes. Those aren't really shelf stable, so it gets cuts.

We do eat Falafel but it's not super shelf-stable. We are switching this out for a new stew recipe. We are including, canned potatoes, carrots, beans and bullion cubes instead. This will still require some water, but is much more shelf stable.

#3 Fruit Cups -> Applesauce

So I initially included fruit cups because they have water, sugar and are mostly healthy. They would provide water as well as quick calories. However we don't really eat them, so I swapped it out for applesauce.

We like applesauce better, it is still shelf-stable and provides quick calories.

#4 Less Breakfast -> More Snacks and Lunch/Dinners

I will be honest, breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day. Tim, on the other hand, loves I mean LOVES breakfast. however what he loves is eggs, bacon, and toast with hot sauce.

For our shelf-stable box, I have reduced the number of breakfasts slightly and increased the lunch/dinner recipes. Who says you can't have mac and cheese for breakfast? Who says eating your survival food has to be painful?

#5 + Canned, Ready to Eat Soup

As I hinted at in #4, I added more dinner options. While we don't eat pre-canned soups we do eat soup and stews. I am adding some Progresso ready to eat soups. They just need to be heated, and require nothing but what is in the can.

Canned soup will be a good addition, even though we don't eat canned soup now. It is a good substitute for something we make fresh.

#6 + Coffee, Hot Coco and Water Flavor Enhancers

Between our recent backpacking trips (Tim's account and Lauren's account), we both saw the need for hot beverages for morale. Tim loves coffee and I (Lauren) love hot chocolate.

We also have funky (read chlorine) tasting city water. So we often put Mio or other flavor additives to our water. Why not include these items in our box?

We plan to add our favorite flavors, either in liquid or powder form.

Our Food Stash

What it looks like now:

Breakfast (38 meals):

Oatmeal w. Brown sugar or jam (15)

Protein Powder + Applesauce (15)

Corned Beef Hash (8)

Lunch/Dinner (52 meals):

Soup/Stew (8)

Bill’s Chili + Rice (16)

Shepard’s Pie (8)

Tomato Soup (4)

Mac and Cheese/Pasta (8)

Can Soup (8)

Other:

Contents List:

Conclusion

This will work better for our family. Will it work for yours? What would you swap out for meals that your family currently eats? Store what you eat, and eat what you store to rotate+replace items. Let us know your ideas below in the comments section.

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Conclusion

This will work better for our family. Will it work for yours? What would you swap out for meals that your family currently eats? Store what you eat, and eat what you store to rotate+replace items. Let us know your ideas below in the comments section.

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